The legacies of violent conflict on this island continue to cast a shadow over our present – and our future — together. The recent Haass-O’Sullivan Talks put forward a number of constructive proposals about how we might ‘deal with the … Read more...
Category: Orange Order
Fr Martin Magill on Telling & Listening to Stories of Trauma
On Sunday Fr Martin Magill visited McCracken Memorial Presbyterian Church in South Belfast, where Trevor Ringland, former Irish and British Lion Rugby star and now Chairman of the Northern Ireland Conservatives, spoke on the courage needed for future Peace and … Read more...
Churches Contributing to Reconciliation? Reflections on the Clonard-Fitzroy Fellowship
Regular readers of this blog will know that one of its main concerns is exploring how Christians can contribute to reconciliation on this island.
The longstanding Clonard-Fitzroy Fellowship has been well-researched (see Ronald Wells’ Friendship Towards Peace and Hope and … Read more...
Pádraig Ó Tuama’s ‘Sorry for Your Troubles,’ Book Review
In the preface to his second book of poetry, Sorry for Your Troubles (Canterbury Press, 2013), Pádraig Ó Tuama explains that ‘The poem titles have spaces between each letter as a way of indicating the importance of silence, listening, … Read more...
Can Christians Contribute a Vision for Our Future? Relaunch of ECONI’s ‘For God & His Glory Alone’ and Catherwood Lecture by David Porter, Thursday 10 October
Can Christians contribute a vision for a better future on this island?
This question has been raised in a number of debates over the last few months: online, on the air, and in newspapers. But believe it or not, there … Read more...
Merriman Summer School–Sectarianism and the Challenges of Reconciliation–Part II
Yesterday I posted the first part of the talk I gave at the Merriman Summer School in Lisdoonvarna, Co. Clare, titled, ‘The Challenges of Reconciliation.’ The theme of the Summer School was ‘Ireland: North and South – Two Societies … Read more...
Merriman Summer School–Protestantism and the Challenges of Reconciliation (Part I)
Last week the Merriman Summer School in Lisdoonvarna, Co. Clare, explored the theme of ‘Ireland: North and South – Two Societies Growing Apart?’ The programme featured a range of academic, poetic and musical contributions, including my own on ‘The … Read more...
Merriman Summer School–The Challenges of Reconciliation
Tomorrow the 2013 Merriman Summer School in Lisdoonvarna, Co. Clare, gets underway, and I’m excited to be taking part.
The theme of this year’s school is ‘Ireland North and South: Two Societies Growing Apart?’ The five-day programme features a tantalizing
… Read more...Can the Churches Provide a Vision for Peace? New Post on Slugger O’Toole
I have a new post on the Slugger O’Toole blog: Can Churches Provide a Vision? John Brewer on Religion, Conflict and Peace in Northern Ireland.
It features highlights from Brewer’s talk last night at Féile an Phobail.… Read more...
William Scholes: What do the Churches have to do with the Maze Peace Building and Conflict Resolution Centre?
Yesterday’s Irish News carried an intriguing piece by Religion Correspondent William Scholes on the Maze Peace building and Conflict Resolution Centre, and the potential role of the churches in leading debate around what will happen at the site.
In light … Read more...
Fr Martin Magill’s Small Steps Towards Reconciliation
The ‘Faith Matters’ segment in yesterday’s Irish News featured columns by Fr Martin Magill, parish priest at Oliver Plunkett’s in Lenadoon, and Rev Dr Heather Morris, President of the Methodist Church in Ireland, on ‘Small Steps we can take … Read more...